


Just The Younger Years

by Colosseum_Trash



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pokemon Colosseum
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 09:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colosseum_Trash/pseuds/Colosseum_Trash
Summary: Wes has lived his whole life running from his past, a story does not wish to tell anyone. As he begins his journey, he discovers that not everything is a downhill ride.





	Just The Younger Years

**Author's Note:**

> I love Wes' character so much, and I've always wanted to write a fanfic about him, though they never turned out will... and so this came around. It's kinda of repetitive, and I'm kind of nervous how this will turn out, but hopefully you guys like it ^-^

The large bellied man put the cigar up to his lips and took a deep breath. A younger man stood on the opposite side of the counter watching a young, white haired boy, sweep the floor, looking on the verge of collapsing.  
“Where’d you find that thing? By the trash can?”  
The older man laughed in response. “He just wandered in one day, looking for a job. Doesn’t talk much. Doesn’t complain either.”  
“I wonder what shut him up, my sister’s kids won’t shut their dang mouths.”  
The two laughed. “He’s got a weird white line on his face. I’ve tried to ask him what it’s from but he won’t answer.”  
The younger one snickered. “Nothing a good licking wouldn’t help. He works for you, you should get all the information you want.”  
The two looked back at the boy, only to find his golden eyes staring intensely at the two of them. He pulled up the sleeve of the shirt that was far too big for him, and returned to his work. “Do you feed him then?”  
The old man grunted. “I do, but only because he works for me. If he can’t, then he’s out.”  
The small boy gripped his broom and turned away from the older men, sweeping the aisles of the shop until perfection. And slowly as the broom moved back and forth, tears fell from his face, and his shoulders shook with silent sobs, remembering the past life he had once lived.  
\---  
On a daily errand one day, the boy came by an alley and spotted a gang of older kids standing around a box.  
“Look at ‘em. They’re pathetic excuses for Pokemon.”  
“They’re rare Pokemon though! Come on, they’re worth a decent price!”  
The tallest out of the five of the gang laughed. “They’re weak and starved. We should put them out of their misery.”  
The sales kid muttered his agreement. “It’d probably be best for them anyways. I don’t know how much longer they can make it.”  
The ring leader turned to another member. “Break their necks? Or tie them into a sack and toss ‘em in the creek?”  
“Their necks. It’s quicker.”  
The tallest boy screamed in pain as something sharp dug into his flesh. The others gawked as the boy pulled a bloody hand away from the back of his neck. He spun around.  
“Who did that? Was it you!?” he screamed and pointed to the small golden eyed boy.  
The smaller boy didn’t back down and snarled in response. “Let them live!”  
“And who’s to stop me?”  
“I will.”  
The older boy smirked evilly.  
“No one’s gonna stop future gang members of Team Snagem.”

The doorbell of the shop rang and the old man looked up to see a bloodied and bruised boy walk in. In his arms were two small brown Pokemon, who looked almost as close to death as he was.  
“Eh? What’s wrong boy?”  
There was a loud thump on the ground as the white haired boy fainted away.  
\---  
Rain was pouring down the day the older man pushed the little boy out the door.  
“I don’t care if you’re arms bent or broken, you can’t work, you’re out of here!”  
Two small brown Pokemon were thrown out after him and the door slammed shut. Tears stung at the corners of the little boy’s eyes and he began to cry. Two sets of fluffy paws placed themselves on his legs, and pawed at his hands. The boy opened his eyes and stared back at the Pokemon. They forced themselves onto his lap and moved as close as they could.  
They’d stay by his side forever and ever. No matter where he went.  
\---  
It was two years later when he stumbled upon an old house in the mountains. The old lady living there invited him in, seeing as he was nearly dead, and looked awful. She cleaned him up and took care of him.  
She slowly nursed the boy and his Pokemon back to health. He became like a son to her and they often spent long nights sitting outside under the stars, though he never spoke.  
One night, the lady took his hand in her own and smiled warmly at him.  
“How old are you boy?”  
His golden eyes stared back. “Ten.”  
The two little Pokemon buried themselves into the coat he was wearing as cold mountain air rushed past.  
“And what’s your name? You never told me.”  
He looked back down at his Pokemon and rubbed between their ears. The answer was simple. His name reminded him of his past, and he wasn’t ready to talk about that yet. She simply laughed and squeezed his hand. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be listening. I trust you’ll be staying with me for a long time.”  
For the next year, he staid with her, until one night, she fell strangely ill. She insisted it was mountain fever and that she’d be fine, but deep down, she knew something was wrong.  
For the next week, the boy was forced to watch her health take a dramatic decline. One week later, she asked him to move her to her bed, after she suddenly collapsed on the ground. He brought her to her room and the two sat together the way they always did, and the lady began to talk.  
“I don’t know anything about you boy, but you’ve been like a son to me. You stayed with me when no one else would. I’ve had a husband leave me and then three children after him, they all thought I was crazy for wanting to live up here. They all thought my love of Pokemon was unusual. I haven’t seen any of them in the past twenty years. I would really appreciate if I could call you my son…”  
The boy was surprised and the old woman pinched his cheek. “You’re a beautiful boy. And the complete opposite of my first son really. He thought Pokemon were tools and saw life as a game, rather than a road. I miss him, I really do, he was my first son, you know?”  
The boy nodded. “I wish I could see him again, and then I’d tell him, ‘Giovanni, I hope you realize that there’s so much more to life then trying to be the best, and that, I’m always here for you… that I’ll be here for you forever,’” she took in a deep breath and smiled, “I just want to hug my little kids again and hold them close and you know… be their mommy. Love on them and tickle their tiny little feet. But they’re all big kids now… and I’m probably the last thing on their minds.”  
Tears slowly started to threaten to spill on her face. “I just want them to know… how much I really, really do love them… that I love them all… so much… it’s hard being a mother and never seeing your kids again. Having them not smile at you or hug you… every day… it’s hard when they never even told you that they loved you.”  
The boy frowned and took her hand in his own, and sat down in the chair next to her. “Boy… there are bad organizations out there, that are only trying to hurt kids like you, and Pokemon too. You have to stop them, or try your hardest, okay? I know you can do that.”  
“I can.”  
She smiled when she heard his voice and leaned back in her bed. “I’ll always remember you. For as long as I can, and into the afterlife. I won’t ever forget you, you’ve been so sweet, even though you’re so darn quiet. Smile once in awhile!” she laughed.  
The boy bit his tongue and then took a deep breath. “My name… is Wes.”  
She held his hand. “It’s such a beautiful name. Don’t let it go to waste.”  
He nodded.  
“There’s a village maybe twenty miles from here... I used to travel to it quite often in my better days. I think you should go over there for a little bit. Get a job. I’ll get better, okay? Come to visit me once you’ve done your part in the world?”  
“Right now?”  
“Yes, now is best. Then you can get a head start.”  
Understanding dawned on him. He squeezed her hand, grabbed the bag he always had ready to go, and stopped by the door. “Thank you. For everything.”  
She smiled. “My pleasure.”  
The two little Pokemon took after him when he opened the door. The hinges squeaked as it closed shut for the last time, and the old woman smiled to herself through her tears. The not so little boy, traveled down the trail that would lead him to the village, a tear rolling down his cheek. Why did everyone he meet always end up leaving him? Why did he always have to say goodbye?”  
The woman watched as he disappeared down the road and laid back down. “I love you Wes. Thank you for being there for me, and showing me what a child’s love really is. I really honestly will never, ever forget you. I hope my children will come to visit me before I die. You be sure to tell them that their momma is waiting for them in that old house in the mountain if you ever see them again.”  
That morning, the sun shone on an empty house, void of life.  
\---  
It took the boy two days to reach the village. He slept in a ditch when he first arrived, his two Pokemon right next to him. The next morning, he spent all day looking for work.  
A mechanic, who had recently fired his assistant, took him in and spent the rest of the day teaching him how everything worked.  
As he laid his head down, he suspected the boy would be gone within the first week. A month later, the boy was working like he had been doing it all his life. At the end of the day, the man often told the young boy about his travels around the world with his Pokemon team and of the days he spent with his young wife, before her death.  
In his free time, he began to seriously train his Pokemon, working hard all day, and often times staying up late to train his Pokemon. The old man began to admire the boy, and considered him family, just as the old woman had done before.  
“Say boy,” the man said one day, “how’d you come to this village?”  
The boy looked up at him from the project he was working on and shook his head. “I’ve forgotten. It’s not important anyways.”  
In other words, dwelling on his past wouldn’t help him move forward. The old man nodded and beckoned him to follow him. He opened up a shed Wes had always wondered about. Inside was a half finished motorcycle. The man walked over and patted one of the pipes, his face shining with pride.  
“This is going to be one of the sickest things you’ve ever seen. I’ll add a sidecar for you. You see, while you’ve been off training, I’ve been working. I might add a cover over the engine when I’m done. I’ll have to decide later.”  
The boy ran his hand over the machinery and nodded his approval, which was all the man wanted to see. He just wanted to know that the boy liked it.  
That night, the two sat together, staring up at the sky, like Wes and the old woman used to do.  
“Is it okay if I tell you a story?”  
“I’d be okay with that.”  
“Good. As you know, I used to be one of the best Pokemon trainers in the world,” he joked and laughed. Wes cracked a small smile. “My team and me were practically undefeatable. And then I met my wife. She was the sweetest person you could ever meet. I loved her to the ends of the earth. She didn’t like the fact that I battled with them, but I just assumed she was being a tad bit paranoid. Years passed, and she convinced me to let them go. Every last one of them. I used to have an eevee, like the ones you have. And I suppose it was like letting a piece of my heart go. You’ll understand when you meet a girl you like. Anyways, one day, I was out walking with her, and I guess you could call it a dramatic scene, a wild Pokemon jumped out. He looked angry, and he seemed to have a funny feeling to him. Kinda like there was a shadow controlling him. He attacked us. He transferred a disease to my wife, and she died shortly after. But every day, I always think, if only I had my Pokemon with me. That’s the pain of living, always looking back into the past and thinking, ‘I could have done something different.’ Don’t let any lady tell you to get rid of them, it will be one of the biggest regrets of your life.”  
The boy nodded. “Sometimes, I see her walking out there, waiting for us to continue on our walk. Sometimes I hear her talking to my Pokemon and telling them that she was sorry. Sometimes I yell at myself for being such a moron and not being able to protect her. What I wouldn’t give to wake up to her beautiful smile one more day.”  
The two were silent, both lost in their memories, of past events that haunted them.  
Two years later, on the boy’s thirteenth birthday, the man placed the keys to his motorcycle into his hands. “I think it’s close enough to being done for you to take a spin. I’d like to cover up the engines a little better… but… I suppose that can wait.”  
The white haired boy nodded eagerly and the man opened up the shed door for him. “Oh, and here, wear these goggles when you ride it. They’re top of the line. I’m getting too old to go that fast, so I’ll let you take the first ride.”  
Wes’ Pokemon hopped into the sidecar, and it wasn’t long before they were sailing across the desert lands of Orre. The two brown little Pokemon, sat so that the air blew directly in their faces. The boy turned the bike around, and smiled as he smoothly, began his journey back home. Back to his home.  
When he was within a couple hundred yards of the house, he knew something was wrong. He parked it in back, and then ran to the front of the mechanic’s house. The front gate had been smashed down. There was laughing inside, and Wes boldly opened the front door.  
What he found waiting for him terrified him.  
The old man was on the ground, holding his chest, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. A group of shady characters stood around laughing, but stopped when he entered the room.  
“Good evening my good gentleman. Can we help you?”  
Wes furrowed his eyebrows. “Who the heck are you!?”  
“Oh, my bad, allow us to introduce ourselves. We’re part of Team Snagem.”  
Wes blinked and then tried to run to the old man’s side, but was stopped by another member. “Oh? Is the old man a friend of yours? Too bad. Seems he’s in a bit of a tight situation.”  
The next thing the boy knew was that he was on the ground, a stinging sensation in his stomach. His two Pokemon were thrown next to him. He was held down as they gang nailed boards to the door, laughing. Wes struggled against them, but couldn’t do anything.  
When they left, he leapt to his feet and dug his nails into the boards, ripping them out as fast as he could. When he was done, his fingers were bleeding, and it was too late. The man had died of shock, and there was nothing the boy could do. He held the man’s head in his lap and cried.  
After the doctors in the town, came by, Wes found himself looking through the man’s room. In a small chest, there was a blue lab coat. He picked it up and put it on. It was a little too large, but he knew he’d grow into it. He picked up a pair of black gloves, and closed the door behind him.  
He was leaving another home. Another important person in his life that he’d grown close too.  
\---  
Within the next year, Wes had evolved both of his Pokemon and was traveling through the desert lands. From travelers, he heard mysterious claims of shadow Pokemon, supposedly caused by the mysterious team Snagem, that had caused Wes so much pain.  
And so he began a plan.  
\---  
Maybe it was because Wes had been the one to save her, that he wasn’t as scared of losing her. Maybe it was because she wasn’t older than him. Maybe it was because they were the same age. His Espeon balanced on the railing and looked down into the water below them. Umbreon sat by his feet, and rested his head on his trainer’s legs, remembering how often he depended on Wes, and how much he trusted him.  
When Wes looked into the water, he saw his younger self, tired and alone. He saw his younger self wandering alone, and then leaving. Wandering and leaving. Being broken over and over again.  
He hardly noticed it when, Rui leaned up against him, pressing her cheek into his shoulder.  
“You ready to go yet?”  
He nodded solemnly, and turned around. His bike waited for the two of them, and Rui hopped into the sidecar and looked up at him.  
“To Agate then?” she smiled.  
A smile played on his lips. Seeing her smile was like seeing the sun come up everyday. “Why are you still here?”  
Rui smirked. “Think of it this way: forever is a long time, but I wouldn’t mind spending every single minute of it with you.”  
Wes took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze, before returning to his bike.  
If all that torture when he was younger, lead him to this moment in time, he’d do it all over again.  
His parents taught him to overcome fear.  
His Pokemon taught him compassion.  
The old lady taught him to forgive and remember.  
The old man taught him to enjoy life as it came.  
And Rui taught him to love like every day was his last.


End file.
